Glitch blocks state aid for thousands

Thousands of Californians dependent on unemployment benefits and disability pay have been denied access to their cash since late Monday, when a glitch in the state’s computer system blocked money from being loaded onto their ATM-accessible debit cards.

“It may be a couple of hours of delay or it may be a day’s delay,’’ said Patti Roberts, a spokeswoman with the state Employment Development Department. “We are working with the (California Technology Agency) on ironing out the glitch and looking at what happened.’’

Officials couldn’t immediately tell us how many of the state’s nearly 2 million recipients of unemployment insurance, plus disability insurance recipients, were affected. But they said the problem was limited to people authorized to receive their biweekly cash payments Tuesday.

Those eligible for the state’s programs are given debit cards that may be used at any Bank of America ATM.